1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir
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- Create Date：2022-10-28 06:52:55
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Ai Weiwei
- ISBN：055341948X
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Summary
The "intimate and expansive" （Time） memoir of "one of the most important artists working in the world today" （Financial Times）， telling a remarkable history of China over the last hundred years while also illuminating his artistic process
"Poignant 。 。 。 An illuminating through-line emerges in the many parallels Ai traces between his life and his father's。"--The New York Times Book Review （Editors' Choice）
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time， BookPage， Booklist， Kirkus Reviews
Once a close associate of Mao Zedong and the nation's most celebrated poet， Ai Weiwei's father， Ai Qing， was branded a rightist during the Cultural Revolution， and he and his family were banished to a desolate place known as "Little Siberia，" where Ai Qing was sentenced to hard labor cleaning public toilets。 Ai Weiwei recounts his childhood in exile， and his difficult decision to leave his family to study art in America， where he befriended Allen Ginsberg and was inspired by Andy Warhol and the artworks of Marcel Duchamp。 With candor and wit， he details his return to China and his rise from artistic unknown to art world superstar and international human rights activist--and how his work has been shaped by living under a totalitarian regime。
Ai Weiwei's sculptures and installations have been viewed by millions around the globe， and his architectural achievements include helping to design the iconic Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing。 His political activism has long made him a target of the Chinese authorities， which culminated in months of secret detention without charge in 2011。 Here， for the first time， Ai Weiwei explores the origins of his exceptional creativity and passionate political beliefs through his life story and that of his father， whose creativity was stifled。
At once ambitious and intimate， Ai Weiwei's 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows offers a deep understanding of the myriad forces that have shaped modern China， and serves as a timely reminder of the urgent need to protect freedom of expression。
"Poignant 。 。 。 An illuminating through-line emerges in the many parallels Ai traces between his life and his father's。"--The New York Times Book Review （Editors' Choice）
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time， BookPage， Booklist， Kirkus Reviews
Once a close associate of Mao Zedong and the nation's most celebrated poet， Ai Weiwei's father， Ai Qing， was branded a rightist during the Cultural Revolution， and he and his family were banished to a desolate place known as "Little Siberia，" where Ai Qing was sentenced to hard labor cleaning public toilets。 Ai Weiwei recounts his childhood in exile， and his difficult decision to leave his family to study art in America， where he befriended Allen Ginsberg and was inspired by Andy Warhol and the artworks of Marcel Duchamp。 With candor and wit， he details his return to China and his rise from artistic unknown to art world superstar and international human rights activist--and how his work has been shaped by living under a totalitarian regime。
Ai Weiwei's sculptures and installations have been viewed by millions around the globe， and his architectural achievements include helping to design the iconic Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing。 His political activism has long made him a target of the Chinese authorities， which culminated in months of secret detention without charge in 2011。 Here， for the first time， Ai Weiwei explores the origins of his exceptional creativity and passionate political beliefs through his life story and that of his father， whose creativity was stifled。
At once ambitious and intimate， Ai Weiwei's 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows offers a deep understanding of the myriad forces that have shaped modern China， and serves as a timely reminder of the urgent need to protect freedom of expression。
Reviews
Erika
，
A beautiful act of resistance and memory。 A deep exploration of freedom， the power of art， and the necessity of speaking truth to power no matter what it costs。
Audrey Babkirk Wellons
，
When this book came out， I thought "Ohhhhhhhh， are we finally going to hear what happened when Ai Wei Wei was detained/disappeared？" And the answer is yes， but there was so much more here I didn't expect。 Highlights for me: - All the line drawings in the book， some very whimsical- His description of the extreme deprivation he and his father （a famous poet） endured in "Little Siberia“ and how that colored his outlook on life- His life in New York in the 80s， particularly the fact that he was rath When this book came out， I thought "Ohhhhhhhh， are we finally going to hear what happened when Ai Wei Wei was detained/disappeared？" And the answer is yes， but there was so much more here I didn't expect。 Highlights for me: - All the line drawings in the book， some very whimsical- His description of the extreme deprivation he and his father （a famous poet） endured in "Little Siberia“ and how that colored his outlook on life- His life in New York in the 80s， particularly the fact that he was rather aimless for a while and took a long time to figure out what he wanted to do with himself。- Stories of his early-days-of-the-Internet blogging and activism in the 21st century。I got interested in him after seeing some of his sculptures and watching "Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry，" so check that out if you haven't seen it！ 。。。more
Sophie V。
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Absolutely amazing。 It was a slow read， but the type of slow were you're savouring each line and spending the time to reflect on what Ai is writing。 Absolutely amazing。 It was a slow read， but the type of slow were you're savouring each line and spending the time to reflect on what Ai is writing。 。。。more
Athena Lambrinidou
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A humbling journey into the depths of modern Chinese history and the grace， defiance， honourable sacrifice and resilience of this one incredible family of artists。 A deeply personal， insightful， heartbreaking and uplifting book。 Felt connected and inspired in realising that powerful， dignified， caring people exist everywhere on this planet。 May we all connect。 Couldn’t help but feel exasperated wondering what are we all still doing using this China as our collective factory of cheap goods and tr A humbling journey into the depths of modern Chinese history and the grace， defiance， honourable sacrifice and resilience of this one incredible family of artists。 A deeply personal， insightful， heartbreaking and uplifting book。 Felt connected and inspired in realising that powerful， dignified， caring people exist everywhere on this planet。 May we all connect。 Couldn’t help but feel exasperated wondering what are we all still doing using this China as our collective factory of cheap goods and trading partner。 What it has done and is doing to our soul to keep turning a blind eye to this shocking reality and injustice behind most of what we consuming。 My soul bows in dignity to the soul of AI WeiWei and the people within China standing up for their collective dignity。 I will never forget this book。 Thank you 。。。more
raspbabygirl
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i would definitely recommend this book to everyone。for those who don’t know who ai weiwei is， he is a chinese contemporary artist and an incredible political activist。 in this memoir he writes about his father， both him and his father’s travels and their violent clashes with the chinese government， his activism， his artworks and so much more。another reason i would recommend this book （besides the all fun knowledge about art history） is because it introduced me to so much information about the ch i would definitely recommend this book to everyone。for those who don’t know who ai weiwei is， he is a chinese contemporary artist and an incredible political activist。 in this memoir he writes about his father， both him and his father’s travels and their violent clashes with the chinese government， his activism， his artworks and so much more。another reason i would recommend this book （besides the all fun knowledge about art history） is because it introduced me to so much information about the chinese government。 i had little to no understanding on how china’s government functioned in his father’s time during the reign of mao zedong and how it functions currently during weiwei’s time。 。。。more
K D
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Disappointing I thought。 The part I read was about Weiwei’s father， which was interesting， but not what I expected as a memoir。 Perhaps， the book improved further on， but I couldn’t invest in it at the time。
Mary Keen
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I wanted to learn more about this brave， uniquely-talented genius Chinese hero， and this book seems to be a wonderful source！ His talented and outspoken father and the family were victims of the Mao's horrible IMO "Cultural Revolution"。 Fortunately， for him and the world， he survived。 （Note: we were lucky enough to have had a wonderful， standard tour of China。 The highlight i will never ever understand is visiting Tiananmen Square and seeing the hundreds of seemingly devoted Chinese citizens sta I wanted to learn more about this brave， uniquely-talented genius Chinese hero， and this book seems to be a wonderful source！ His talented and outspoken father and the family were victims of the Mao's horrible IMO "Cultural Revolution"。 Fortunately， for him and the world， he survived。 （Note: we were lucky enough to have had a wonderful， standard tour of China。 The highlight i will never ever understand is visiting Tiananmen Square and seeing the hundreds of seemingly devoted Chinese citizens staring with adoration at the large photo of Mao at the front。 A family member suggested that maybe they felt forced to be there to indicate their reverence， but if so， they deserve awards for acting！ ）Recently， Weiwei has gotten in trouble with the Chinese authorities for his outspoken blog and his middle finger at his Tiananmen Square photo message。 I'm So glad for him and all the beneficiaries in the world of his messages that he is now safe in England --hope he doesn't decide to test his luck in a trip back。I learned a lot from looking at the photos and his many unbelievably clever sketches。 I hope to read more of this book when i'm less busy。 。。。more
Sylvia
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3。8 rounding up to 4
JD
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A really fascinating book to read。
Alex Cappaert
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Het meest ontluisterend boek dat ik las sinds lange tijd。
Stephen
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As much as I like Weiwei Ai's artwork， his autobiography reads more like a history book than a personal recount of his life。 He certain went through many struggles both with his father and with his son， but they are not written passionately。 The book seems to be written by a fly on the wall。 As much as I like Weiwei Ai's artwork， his autobiography reads more like a history book than a personal recount of his life。 He certain went through many struggles both with his father and with his son， but they are not written passionately。 The book seems to be written by a fly on the wall。 。。。more
Josef W
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Well written， great biography to understand the life of Ai Weiwei and to get a glance at the country and its government。
Carol Wakefield
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I picked up this book because of interest in Wei Wei as a artist。 Mainly this book covers the lives of weiwei and his father and their difficulties with the ir life under the communist government。 F his fathers life is exceptional because he lived during the communist revolution and some of the very difficult times that followed the reorganization of a very ancient state。 For instance the cultural revolution which I have read about but not quite so personally。 The father was a famous poet。 Weiwe I picked up this book because of interest in Wei Wei as a artist。 Mainly this book covers the lives of weiwei and his father and their difficulties with the ir life under the communist government。 F his fathers life is exceptional because he lived during the communist revolution and some of the very difficult times that followed the reorganization of a very ancient state。 For instance the cultural revolution which I have read about but not quite so personally。 The father was a famous poet。 Weiweilived during the establishment of the Internet， a cultural revolution in its own way。 Both men spent time in prison for the views that were thought might do harm to the new country。 Both survived and continued their ways。 Weiwei with his son and the sons mother end up in Europe。 We will have to wait for ai Laos book someday to complete the narrative of the ai family。 。。。more
庆忌
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我读的繁体中文版，但繁体中文没有条目。他当然是很可贵的，非常非常可贵的。大家都很可悲，非常非常可悲。
Tim
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Very interesting book detailing the life of Ai Weiwei as well as his father Ai Qing。 Ai Weiwei details how Ai Qing was heavily involved in the communist revolution but then fell out of favor with those in power both before the Cultural Revolution and during the Cultural Revolution。 The book then become a history of China's communist period from the side of dissidents while exploring interwoven themes of art， freedom of expression and the individual。 Very interesting book detailing the life of Ai Weiwei as well as his father Ai Qing。 Ai Weiwei details how Ai Qing was heavily involved in the communist revolution but then fell out of favor with those in power both before the Cultural Revolution and during the Cultural Revolution。 The book then become a history of China's communist period from the side of dissidents while exploring interwoven themes of art， freedom of expression and the individual。 。。。more
Angela Murat
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Speechless。 What a journey。 Beautiful written， with some of the most intricate snippets of memories I have read in memoirs。 Sometimes， I cannot help but to feel like I am really him， living in the moment through his eyes。This is all you need to grasp a basic understanding of the impacts of China’s totalitarian regime on individuals and art， before and today。 Ai Wei Wei’s story is incredibly moving。 His courage and burning passion inspires me in every way。 I feel a deep sense of attachment to him Speechless。 What a journey。 Beautiful written， with some of the most intricate snippets of memories I have read in memoirs。 Sometimes， I cannot help but to feel like I am really him， living in the moment through his eyes。This is all you need to grasp a basic understanding of the impacts of China’s totalitarian regime on individuals and art， before and today。 Ai Wei Wei’s story is incredibly moving。 His courage and burning passion inspires me in every way。 I feel a deep sense of attachment to him now as an artist and will carry a bit of his artistic attitude with me in every piece I make in the future。 Also， this book was so flawlessly translated you could barely tell it was translated at all。 Given the difficulty associated with translating mandarin poetry， the translator did an AMAZING job at conserving the best he could the elegance and beauty of the language。 。。。more
Gary Turner
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A heart wrenching memoir for sure。
Peter Vegel
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Ai Weiwei's memoirs read more like Ai Qing's （Weiwei's father， the famous poet） biography。 The first half of the book mainly covers the father's tumultuous life during China's revolutionary period， which did not have much good in stall for a poet dead set on telling it how he saw it。Ai Weiwei's life began in the most remote province of the nascent People's Republic， where father and son were scraping by in exile。 His artistic life began in New York in the '80s and his activist life began some te Ai Weiwei's memoirs read more like Ai Qing's （Weiwei's father， the famous poet） biography。 The first half of the book mainly covers the father's tumultuous life during China's revolutionary period， which did not have much good in stall for a poet dead set on telling it how he saw it。Ai Weiwei's life began in the most remote province of the nascent People's Republic， where father and son were scraping by in exile。 His artistic life began in New York in the '80s and his activist life began some ten years later when he finally came back out of exile。 Although one could argue that Ai lived in exile throughout his whole life。 。。。I enjoyed reading this book but after a while it become clear to me that I won't find much of the person Ai Weiwei on these pages。 Here and there he makes some attempts to formulate a narrative around the person Ai Weiwei but he never quite gets much further than exposing on some platitudes about how art and creativity cannot exist without freedom and tying this to his art practice or lack thereoff。 What's evident after reading this book is that you don't have to come looking here for grand theories or certainly no manifesto on his aesthetic or political beliefs。 Ai also admits that concering his life and his art he was lost for a very long time - no surprise for somebody that grew up amidst that much social and political violence。 In a sense， Ai has become the embodiment of the readymade that he became obsessed with after seeing the work of Duchamp in New York。 That's why being an activist suits Ai much more than being an artist: it's really only after the advent of internet blogging that he finds his voice。 By chance and good instinct， he follows up his blogs by making impromptu activist documentaries and setting off citizen journalist projects that are a sign of the naive and relatively liberal times in China before internet censorship and crackdowns went in full gear。 Really what I find most astonishing about Ai's story is how he managed to continually get away with his activism while so many others fared much worse fates。 This I think can also be attributed to a large dosis of luck and a talent for doing the unexpected， often catching the Chinese state and security forces by surprise。 。。。After reading the book I can't but admit that I felt a bit dissapointed to not have found much behind the facade of Ai Weiwei the celebrated artist。 More so， I miss the kind of deep reflection that usually comes with the act of writing one's memoirs。 It's also quite strange than to write your memoirs at age 64， with probably still quite some life ahead of you。 Ai also admits that the idea for writing this book came after reflection about his father's life and how he felt he needed to write down everything he still remembered about his life。 The lack of reflection on his own life almost makes it feel like that part of the story is a bit of an afterthought， as in， the jury is still out on the life and work of Ai Weiwei。 The lack of critical introspection in this book really makes it feel quite naive sometimes， even ridiculous。 Like the passages where he talks about getting sixty small and big architectural projects served to him because he had designed and build his own atelier in a very crude but innovative （？） style。 His explanation why he turned to architecture？ As a youngster he had played with and made certain items such as a chimney， a bed， a basket， and a wheelbarrow， claiming that he therefore "understood architectural concepts"。 But in the end， I think the book is still an interesting document to understand people of his generation and I'm happy to have read it。 In my reviewing I found that I don't have much love for Ai Weiwei the artist， and I think that mostly stems from a feeling that he managed to ride a wave of new art in China post-Tiananmen by often being in the right place at the right time （that of course also requires talent？） but did not contribute much himself to the movement while still managing to get all the credit。 And I think I feel a bit the same about his activism。 But I think in terms of the latter， it is not a fair assesment。 At least he managed to awaken something in people - like when people en mass helped out to recover the names of children who died in the Sichuan earthquake， or when he received masses of donations to help him with his legal battles。 It seems at least he managed to plant plenty of （sunflower） seeds to create a better world and continues to do so。（Maybe it's not good trying to be the judge of all this but I feel Ai hasn't been very helpful by not judging his life and work in this book。 Still I give the book 3-3。5/5） 。。。more
Felix
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Brilliant artist， brilliant man。 Fascinating to read how activism runs through all generations of his family。
Yameng LT
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heart wrenching and utterly inspiring
David P Glover
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Biography of Ai Weiwei， i would have appreciated a bit more of the art background but overall very enlightening
Raph
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one of the most hope giving books i've ever readai wei wei is my biggest inspiration hands down may he be a role model to us all in authenticity and dedication to justice and truth one of the most hope giving books i've ever readai wei wei is my biggest inspiration hands down may he be a role model to us all in authenticity and dedication to justice and truth 。。。more
Joe Fusaro
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This takes you through the history of the artist but also the thinking behind quite a few major works and projects。 Read it if you love his work but also read it for the lessons he teaches about China。
Dan Mccarthy
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Read for our library's book club。A double memoir of both Ai Weiwei and his father Ai Qing and their experiences in modern China。 His father was born before the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the creation of the Chinese Republic and was a renowned author and poet throughout the tumultuous era of the Chinese Civil War， the Second Sino-Japanese War， and the rise of Communist China。 As an intellectual he was arrested numerous times for speaking out and his poetry。Ai Weiwei follows in his father's foot Read for our library's book club。A double memoir of both Ai Weiwei and his father Ai Qing and their experiences in modern China。 His father was born before the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the creation of the Chinese Republic and was a renowned author and poet throughout the tumultuous era of the Chinese Civil War， the Second Sino-Japanese War， and the rise of Communist China。 As an intellectual he was arrested numerous times for speaking out and his poetry。Ai Weiwei follows in his father's footsteps， becoming an outspoken artist and arrested for his democratic and transparency activism。I really liked the first half of this book where Weiwei gives his father's biography and only liked the second half。 I think that mostly comes down to my interest in history and disinterest in art history， which Weiwei discusses in the second half focused on his own story。 Weiwei's activism through his life is commendable and kept me engaged even through his descriptions of his art。 。。。more
Bistra Ivanova
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I am a fan of Ai Weiwei ever since I actually saw his work in person。 I was lucky enough to stumble upon his retrospective exhibition in Lisbon last year and ever since I have been fascinated with his work and life， stubbornness and braveness。 This memoir is a very interesting read that follows the life of his dad， a big Chinese poet who saw the worst of the regime， and his own， another big artist who also saw the worst of the regime， reaching out to his son， a young boy who still has to see wha I am a fan of Ai Weiwei ever since I actually saw his work in person。 I was lucky enough to stumble upon his retrospective exhibition in Lisbon last year and ever since I have been fascinated with his work and life， stubbornness and braveness。 This memoir is a very interesting read that follows the life of his dad， a big Chinese poet who saw the worst of the regime， and his own， another big artist who also saw the worst of the regime， reaching out to his son， a young boy who still has to see what he is about to see。 It is beautiful to follow the underlying parallels in the family， all happening in the background of the rapid Chinese political， cultural， financial and social developments in the last 100+ years。 How to be a free man in a country of oppression？ How to challenge the lies and propaganda without getting arrested？ How to sparkle change in Chinese society？ How to feed the global debate about democracy and human rights？ Ai Weiwei does it all in a very consistent and honest manner so I can only respect him。 P。S。 I hope to see this book in Bulgarian one day， I think we also need to read it more widely。。。 。。。more
Christopher
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Ai Weiwei's reflections on his life， his art， and his impact shine out with an endearingly human quality and a morally compelling poignancy in this wonderful memoir。 His accounts of various years of childhood living with his father during periods of exile under Mao's reign， and his struggles to both cope with that reality and understand his father's experience， are described movingly in themselves and also brilliantly in relation to his own creative process as an emerging artist。 The interplay b Ai Weiwei's reflections on his life， his art， and his impact shine out with an endearingly human quality and a morally compelling poignancy in this wonderful memoir。 His accounts of various years of childhood living with his father during periods of exile under Mao's reign， and his struggles to both cope with that reality and understand his father's experience， are described movingly in themselves and also brilliantly in relation to his own creative process as an emerging artist。 The interplay between his convictions about freedom- particularly that of self-expression- and his observations of the increasingly totalitarian Chinese state gave me some new insight into his artwork as well as his self-described arc towards activism。 I found myself inspired by the endurance with which he survived months of secret imprisonment and years of harassment by the Chinese government， as well as by the clever and mischievous means by which he keeps the government's operatives on their toes。 His description of the ultimate inspiration for writing this memoir is deeply touching， and reminds his audience that amidst his fame and renown as a talented artist and activist with a unique and valuable voice， he is just like any reader seeking a life of freedom， peace， and abiding bonds with beloved family and friends。 。。。more
Trinady Maddock
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"Difficulties are hard to express， but it is precisely when daily experiences present a barrier to exercising logic that art begins to show its power。"A beautiful book for anyone who is interested in art， expression， and the freedom of human experience。 Extremely interesting from an historical/political perspective--before reading， I only knew of the events described at a very surface level。 But the book's true power is its larger take--the philosophy of art of all kinds， from furniture to perfo "Difficulties are hard to express， but it is precisely when daily experiences present a barrier to exercising logic that art begins to show its power。"A beautiful book for anyone who is interested in art， expression， and the freedom of human experience。 Extremely interesting from an historical/political perspective--before reading， I only knew of the events described at a very surface level。 But the book's true power is its larger take--the philosophy of art of all kinds， from furniture to performance， and the integral role it plays in our day to day lives， but especially in the face of adversity and political oppression。 And， admittedly， since contemporary art usually goes way over my head， it was great to have its context and purpose laid out for me， in striking contrast to the very environments that inspired its inception。In short， one of the best memoirs I've ever read。 。。。more
Meghan Hall
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Of a thousand years of joy and sorrowsNot a trace can be foundYou who are living， live the best life you canDon't count on the earth to preserve memory-------The efforts we make， the mishaps we encounter - all count as repayment for living。 Wow， this book is full to bursting。 A memoir， a father's legacy story， a history of artists in Maoist China， a scathing look at contemporary China's control over dissent， and some wonderful visuals sketch and photography， all rolled into one。 Memoir isn't alw Of a thousand years of joy and sorrowsNot a trace can be foundYou who are living， live the best life you canDon't count on the earth to preserve memory-------The efforts we make， the mishaps we encounter - all count as repayment for living。 Wow， this book is full to bursting。 A memoir， a father's legacy story， a history of artists in Maoist China， a scathing look at contemporary China's control over dissent， and some wonderful visuals sketch and photography， all rolled into one。 Memoir isn't always my favourite format to read， and there are a few awkward passages in the translation， but overall this is an excellent memoir and a very， very good book。 。。。more
Jennifer Elbert
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The Afterward section was the best part of this book。 I'm fascinated by China's Cultural Revolution and Ai Weiwei's descriptions of events was interesting， but this book was surprisingly dry。 For me， the author seemed arrogant and difficult to like - until the very end of the book。 I was glad to finish it。 The Afterward section was the best part of this book。 I'm fascinated by China's Cultural Revolution and Ai Weiwei's descriptions of events was interesting， but this book was surprisingly dry。 For me， the author seemed arrogant and difficult to like - until the very end of the book。 I was glad to finish it。 。。。more
Kyle Pfortmiller
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